# Would you be into Pokémon if it came out today?



## Murkrow (Apr 20, 2021)

If Pokémon didn't exist before now, and it came out today as a new video game or an anime, would you be interested?


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## Momo(th) (Apr 21, 2021)

My little siblings enjoy the games despite not growing up with the anime or the old games, so probably lol. It haves a lot of vibes that click with my autistic brain like how every Pokemon is tailor made for pets and c o l l e c t i n g


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## Bluwiikoon (Apr 21, 2021)

If there were no Pokemon, I'd probably be into Digimon instead at first! So I'm sure I'd stumble onto it at some point :D In that alternate universe, it would be treated (by Digimon/other monster collector fans) like how Pokemon fans in this universe treated Yokai Watch probably, haha!

With no Pokemon around, would Telefang have become mainstream? Unlimited possibilities!


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## Kung Fu Ferret (Apr 21, 2021)

Pokemon has helped me through some tough times, but then again so has Digimon. I'd be like "Hmmm. These new 'Pokemon' things look interesting. A bit simplistic, but still quite charming." So I'd probably at least try it out if it was much more recent than it is in this reality.


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## IndigoClaudia (Apr 21, 2021)

I would be very interested. To be fair, i started playing pokemon in late gen 5/early gen 6 (i was really really young tho, lol. I got into it around spring of 2013). That raises the question: if it came out today, would we get gen 1? would the pokemon designs change? I think i would still be very into pokemon if it recently came out, but i am sort of glad i only got to discover it at what's now roughly halfway through it's lifetime, as this means i have a wider selection of Pokemon to enjoy, and games to play, etc.

In other news, pokemon is autocorrecting to spokesmen.



Bluwiikoon said:


> like how Pokemon fans in this universe treated Yokai Watch probably, haha!


I remember yokai watch... i actually liked it a lot, even tho my initial reaction to it was "ugh, just a weird pokemon rip-off"
I don't think they are going to translate any more yokai watch games into english though, wah ;w;


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## Sandstone-Shadow (Apr 21, 2021)

Hmm, honestly, I feel like I probably wouldn’t! I’m not big into turn-based RPGs lately, and I don’t think a creature collecting game would catch my eye today - most of the new/indie Pokemon-style games coming out today aren’t things I have any interest in. 

I might be curious if what came out today was retro Gen I style games - but then again, if I wasn’t into Pokemon, I’m not sure if that style would have any sentimental value to me, ha.


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## Murkrow (Apr 21, 2021)

IndigoClaudia said:


> That raises the question: if it came out today, would we get gen 1? would the pokemon designs change?


I don't know the answer to these but it would probably be a gatcha


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## IndigoClaudia (Apr 21, 2021)

Murkrow said:


> IndigoClaudia said:
> 
> 
> > That raises the question: if it came out today, would we get gen 1? would the pokemon designs change?
> ...


i do not like gatcha games ;w;


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## LadyJirachu (Oct 29, 2021)

I would be but I would probably only like cuter Pokémon and have a lot less interest in the battles lol


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## JHG (Oct 30, 2021)

LadyJirachu said:


> I would be but I would probably only like cuter Pokémon and have a lot less interest in the battles lol


I'd prefer the battles.


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## Sanqui (Nov 1, 2021)

Murkrow said:


> If Pokémon didn't exist before now, and it came out today as a new video game or an anime, would you be interested?


Good question.  Obviously it's nontrivial to think about "alternative history" like this, because there are many factors, but I imagine not.  Possibly the main reason being I don't watch anime (and that's how I was introduced to Pokémon as a kid), and I rarely play new games these days.  But it's possible I would have found some other game to fill the monster collecting niche.


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## DawningWinds (Nov 4, 2021)

I stumbled upon Pokémon when I was three because of two major factors. Factor 1: My older brother knew someone who  recently let him borrow their Pokémon game. Factor 2: We were about to make the three day trip from Tuscon to a teensy town in Minnesota where some of my Mom's family lived and my parents needed to give their three- and seven-year-old children something to do. If it hadn't been Pokémon, it would've been something else. And I think, that for me. Whatever that thing was, in an alternate timeline where Pokémon didn't exist till recently, would potentially fill the space in my life that Pokémon does. I... can't say for sure what that thing would be. 

That said, I *might* stumble upon Pokémon in that alternate timeline, but whether or not I would be interested I can't say. I can somehow connect the vast majority of my media-related interests to Pokémon, so in an alternate universe where Pokémon is new and something else fills that spot in my life, whether Pokémon would be something that would interest me enough to try it, *if I even discovered it*, would depend heavily on the "something else".


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## sidewalk_time (Jan 29, 2022)

Maybe, if I didn't treat it like Pokemon fans to Yokai Watch like the previous people said. If I _was_ interested, I might just never get the game, just watch a whole lot of gameplay, a few pieces of the anime, and read up a bit about it, then just forget about it.


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## haneko (Mar 11, 2022)

Probably not, honestly. As a child it appealed to my wish to do actual exploring. Now that I'm an adult, the main reason I enjoy it is because I'm so familiar with the game that it becomes relaxing to play. I do real exploring now :)


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## Lord Mewtwo (May 10, 2022)

Hard to say but I am leaning more towards no due to a vast difference in circumstances.

I was a teenager when I had first heard of it and I hated the concept. I had gotten into the anime first by chance while attempting to be a more informed hater and only even heard of the video games because my best friend started telling me about her Pokemon Yellow.

While I am far more open-minded as an adult and the internet was not as a big a thing back when I was a teenager, I no longer have friends who play the games, my best friend is now a married teacher with a busy schedule and I am not heavily into anime. I only ever watch what my friends have suggested and provided.

As an adult with none of the familiarity that I carried from teenhood and no way of knowing that adults were into it, I would probably write it off as a kid thing.


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## Skoonk (May 20, 2022)

I like monster taming games anyway, so I assume it would probably at least draw my attention. Of course, I want to say I'd like it instantly since I like it as much as I do now, but who knows how it would actually be.


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## ValyceNegative (Aug 11, 2022)

Most probably not, but maybe my opinion would change if their debut would turn out to be such a cultural boom like it was the first time.

Pokèmon is still a franchise tailored for kids, but the absolute mania they managed to spark up with Gen 1 was enough to catch the attention of teenagers and young adults. Nowadays its fandom is so diverse with its age groups because it consists of both younger people getting interested in the new games and older fans renewing their interest because they liked previous generations or remember "the big boom" and are curious to catch up.

I don't think adult fans would be able to get into the franchise if their debut nowadays would turn out to be much more subdued. Even if it turns out to be incredibly popular among the age group it's developed for, maybe most people would go "oh, it's like Fortnite all over again" and ignore it, myself included. Which makes me rather melancholic actually :/

OT, but it would be a nice question for a new thread, wondering what would substitute Pokèmon in our lives if it didn't exist at all would be an interesting "what if" discussion.


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## Kung Fu Ferret (Aug 29, 2022)

ValyceNegative said:


> OT, but it would be a nice question for a new thread, wondering what would substitute Pokèmon in our lives if it didn't exist at all would be an interesting "what if" discussion.


I honestly think Digimon would have filled that niche, assuming Bandai and Toei were more consistent with releases for that particular franchise.


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## ValyceNegative (Aug 29, 2022)

Hhhmmm yes? Maybe? I mean Digimon feels more on the toy side like they want to offer a more complex Tamagochi alternative. It's the western marketing that pushed them as a "Pokemon rival".

Surprisingly Telefang might be a monster-collecting alternative. XD


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## Palamon (Aug 29, 2022)

Hmm? No? If it came out just now in 2022, I don't think I'd be interested. I'd probably be a completely different person, too. So, definitely not.


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